Chapter 13 Chapter 13 It’s the same, just be proud of it first...

Zhao Xiaoxing left after finishing her meal. After her grandmother fell asleep on the kang, Qingmei and Zhao Wuhe sat by the stove to keep warm.

"Tell me, are you in trouble?"

Qingmei had actually already planned what to do, but she wanted Zhao Wuhe to know so that no one would be caught off guard when Zhou Wu came.

Although she and Zhao Wuhe are not mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, they have a good relationship. They have experienced adventures together and can be considered companions who share weal and woe.

Qingmei warned Zhao Wuhe about Zhou Wu's situation and said, "If he can't see me, he will definitely come looking for me. Then I will definitely confront him."

Zhao Wuhe said, "Don't be afraid. You should have taken the eighty yuan. Don't feel bad. I reckon he's been waiting for you anxiously, so he'll come that evening. It just so happens that our brigade is having a party, and everyone will be there. Let's see if he dares to kidnap you."

Qingmei thought the same thing, and told Zhao Wuhe the details again, and then mentioned Zhou Wu's ex-wife.

"Everyone says she ran away, but I don't believe it." Qingmei asked Zhao Wuhe to help her think about whether there was anything she had missed. She believed that Zhou Wu had beaten his ex-wife to death, not that she ran away. After all, in the original book, Qingmei was also beaten to death by Zhou Wu.

King Wu of Zhou beat his two wives to death and buried them in the same place. The author mentioned it briefly and said there were many graves, but did not specify their specific locations.

It would have been fine if Qingmei hadn't mentioned it, but when she did, Zhao Wuhe shuddered. Considering Zhao Wuhe's fearless nature, it was surprising that she could shudder.

Zhao Wuhe placed her warm palm on Qingmei's and recalled, "That day when Zhou Wuqiang was going to marry you and passed by the cemetery, you got into a fight with him and fell down the mountain. Do you remember?"

Qingmei certainly remembered that she wanted to stab Zhou Wu with a knife, but failed. She was struck by a string of thunder and her head felt painful and numb. She felt sorry for herself just thinking about it.

Zhao Wuhe added: "Zhou Wu was stunned and ran to the side to avoid the mine. Halfway through his run, he tripped over a grave and fell down the mountain, not knowing whether he was dead or alive."

That would have been fine, but Zhou Wu said at the time: "Why are you here? It's bad luck!"

"'Why is it here?'" Qingmei pondered, "Could it be that Zhou Wu killed his ex-wife and hid the body in our village cemetery?"

Zhao Wuhe said, "It's very possible, but Zhou Wu fell suddenly at that time. I was in a hurry to save you, so I didn't see clearly where it was. I was thinking that he might have hidden the body under the old grave. We need to dig deeper to find out."

After hearing this, Qingmei fell silent.

Zhao Wuhe calmed herself down and said, "We can get rid of him if we dig him out."

Qingmei held down her trembling legs and said, "Who's going to dig it?"

Zhao Wuhe pointed at herself, then at Qingmei: "We are old partners."

Qingmei's face turned black and she couldn't smile.

Zhao Wuhe said, "The ground is frozen and hard to dig now. We'll wait until after the Lunar New Year. Also, the forest patrols are constantly on duty to prevent illegal tree cutting during the Lunar New Year period. We have to wait until at least the 15th. We also have to be careful not to alert the enemy. If Zhou Wu finds out about the move, we'll never find him again."

Qingmei took a deep breath. There was a way to make Zhou Wu get shot and never appear in front of her. She could wait.

Zhao Wuhe looked at Qingmei's little face and felt as if she were seeing Qingmei's mother, Fan Shuling, who had come to the countryside that year. She was serene, graceful, and full of poetry. Like an elegant orchid.

Qingmei is about 70% like her. Compared to her mother's quietness, she is more lively and has a stronger vitality.

If her mother were still alive, the child would definitely not have suffered so much.

"Why are you staring at me?" Qingmei was still wondering how the grave-digging operation would proceed.

Zhao Wuhe didn't want Qingmei to recall the sad past, so she changed the subject and said, "Let's deal with Li Laoer and his wife first. You used Zhou Wu well. Let them learn a lesson and they won't dare to target you again."

Qingmei and Zhao Wuhe agreed on this point. Zhao Wuhe had suffered a lot of ridicule from Sun Xiufen while recuperating in the dilapidated house. She and Qingmei had the same feelings.

Zhao Wuhe said a few more words to Qingmei, and her grandmother, who was sleeping on the kang, woke up.

Seeing her grandmother coming out from the kang, Zhao Wuhe stood up and said, "Auntie, I have something else to do at home, so I'll be leaving now. I'll come back in two days."

Grandma took Zhao Wuhe's hand and said, "Thank you for bringing so many things to see us. You can take some away. It's such a waste of money. You can save them for later."

Zhao Wuhe held her grandmother's hand. The old lady had also taken care of her. Now that her life had returned to its former standard, she naturally wanted to repay her kindness: "You drink the milk powder every day. Use a spoon to scoop three spoonfuls and soak it in warm water. Let Xiaomei get the rest for you. Oh, and don't be reluctant to eat the cured duck. I'll bring you more when you finish the rice, flour and oil."

"Oh, good, you are a very kind person."

Zhao Wuhe smiled, thinking that the truly kind people were not others but Qingmei and her own parents.

Grandma took Zhao Wuhe's hand and walked her all the way to the door.

*** ***

The movie ended on New Year's Eve, and the crowd was walking sparsely, with long shadows on the ground.

Qingmei and grandma have fallen asleep.

Four or five miles north of the cemetery on the back mountain, there is a wooden house where hunters rest.

At this moment, a pig-killing howl came from inside: "I was wrong, I was wrong, I swear I will never bother her again."

In a temperature of more than ten degrees below zero, Huang Wenbi knelt on the ground with his bare chest, his whole body pale.

He was shivering with cold, squatting on the ground with his hands folded across his chest. "Grandpa Zhou, please believe what your grandson said. I really didn't do anything with her. I didn't even touch her hand. She wanted me to touch her, but I didn't—"

"Bullshit!"

Bang!

“Ahhhhhh—”

The whip hit Huang Wenbi's back hard, and he fell to the ground again with his eyes black. But Zhou Wu opened his mouth and said "one", and Huang Wenbi immediately squatted up, not daring to lie down.

When he was first caught in a sack, he lay on the ground pretending to be dead. Zhou Wu counted to three, but he didn't get up. Zhou Wu soaked him in mud and water for two hours, and the bird was almost frozen to death.

Then Zhou Wu and his two brothers beat him up. He fainted and woke up again. He knew that Zhou Wu had found out that he had come to marry a young widow, so he quickly distanced himself from her.

But Zhou Wu found out that Huang Wenbi had contact with Qingmei and had even harassed her.

Qingmei is his, and he won't allow anyone to get involved.

Huang Wenbi wanted to kneel down and call them grandpa. They beat him half to death on New Year's Eve. How could his life be good after this?

"Be careful, don't kill anyone again." Zhou Wu handed the whip to his brother next to him, stretched his neck, and walked out of the hunter's cabin, leaving Huang Wenbi dying.

Not long after he returned, it was dawn.

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, everyone was beaming with joy. However, the villagers would consciously lower their voices when passing by Zhou Wu's house to avoid causing trouble.

Li Xianjin came from Donghe Village, treading lightly. He didn't know the Zhou family's rules. He stood outside the door early in the morning and shouted, "Brother Zhou Wu, Brother Zhou Wu, come and greet me!"

Zhou Wu just lay down, his whole body filled with anger. He pushed the door open to see who was looking for death. When he saw it was Li Xianjin, his face changed immediately: "You're here?"

Li Xianjin was frightened by his expression just now and thought he was going to kill someone. He touched his nose and said, "You're too intimidating."

Zhou Wu gave a hypocritical smile and said, "I had a nightmare. Ah, Happy New Year, ah."

"Well, Happy New Year." Li Xianjin bowed and said, "No wonder he looked like he was going to kill someone."

He didn't care that Zhou Wu hadn't invited him and went straight into Zhou Wu's house: "Hey, you have to treat me to a drink today. I have good news for you."

Zhou Wu's family is richer than other families. Their yard is more than 200 square meters. The three brothers and their families live next to each other. There is an archway carved on the courtyard wall, so they can visit each other without going out.

Next to the yard was a pigsty. There were no pigs in it, but there were a lot of pheasants and rabbits from hunting. Above the pigsty hung a long chain, with a young eagle tied to it.

The wall opposite the pigpen was hung with corn cobs, and underneath were two piles of snow-covered cabbages.

The cellar door next to it was not locked. Li Xianjin took a look as he passed by. It was full of cured fish and meat, as well as four or five wine jars. The cellar was almost full.

Seeing that he didn't move his eyes, Zhou Wu said with a fake smile, "Bring some back later."

Li Xianjin said bluntly, "Okay, I don't want much. Ten kilograms of white wine and two baskets of sausages. I can't carry more than that."

Zhou Wu politely brought him a stool and asked him to sit down. "What good news? Could it be that Comrade Qingmei has some ideas?"

Li Xianjin sat down, holding up two fingers, and remained silent. Zhou Wu quickly took out a cigarette and lit it for him. Li Xianjin said, "She said that once the betrothal gifts are paid, she will come over on her own. This will save you the trouble of having to spend extra money on the marriage."

Zhou Wu thought of Qingmei's cute and lovely appearance and asked impatiently, "When will you come over?"

Li Xianjin held a cigarette in his mouth, crossed his legs, and pretended to give money: "How much can you give?"

Without saying a word, Zhou Wu turned around and took down the cotton-padded jacket hanging on the wall. He took out a handful of money from it and said, "This is the deposit."

Li Xianjin took the money and counted it: "Only eighty?"

Zhou Wu said, "When the people come, I will give you another two hundred. Yours will not be missing."

Li Xianjin said, "You can't cheat me, right? Don't let people come over and the matter be settled before you refuse to pay."

Zhou Wu pointed to the arm-length pig-killing machete on the wall and said, "I swear on this heirloom from my family, if I pay you even a penny less, you'll chop me into pieces."

Li Xianjin looked at the silver gleam of the blade and shrank his neck in fear: "Don't swear so casually, how can I not believe you?"

Zhou Wu asked, "Then what day will you come? I need to have the banquet prepared in advance."

Li Xianjin felt that he was too impatient, and for the sake of the butcher's knife, he said, "The fifteenth day of the first lunar month."

After just two weeks, Zhou Wu felt it was okay. He smiled and said, "Wait, I'll get you some wine. Today, we brothers won't leave until we're drunk."

Li Xianjin was so thirsty that he took a puff of cigarette and was as happy as a god: "My dear sister-in-law, thanks to you, my good days are coming."

Zhou Wu walked into the yard, gave him a sinister look, and let him be proud for now.